by Scott Gleeson, USA TODAY Sports

"I think this team, we just feel like we can outlast guys," said Harris, the Cavaliers' second-leading scorer who had just one point at the half. "Sometimes fatigue might set in and (opponents) get impatient and rush shots against our defense. ... We just want to grind it out and basically see who the tougher team is."

Virginia proved to be the better team in an Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title-clinching win against Syracuse. The Cavaliers went on to score 48 second-half points to defeat the Orange by 19 - extending a trend of phenomenal second half surges.

"I think depth and the balance is what's different this year," Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. "This group has been able to ignite once they get comfortable."

In past three games, Virginia has scored 30 points or less at halftime but come out with a renewed sense of urgency in the second half, averaging 42 second-half points in blowout victories against Syracuse, Miami and Notre Dame.

"I don't think it's the right way to play but it is a lot of the times the way we play," said sophomore guard Malcolm Brogdon. "We keep it close in the first half, trying to feel a team out, we make mistakes. And in the second half we exploit them for the weaknesses we find what we figured out in the first half. So, it allows us to gain a huge lead on them."

Although finding their shooting touch is part of the equation, much of the Cavaliers' second-half success is a product of adjustments in a strict man-to-man defense. Since a Feb. 8 victory against Georgia Tech, Virginia's opponents are averaging 27 points and shooting 44% from the field in the first half but averaging just 23 points and shooting 32% in the second.

After spending last March as a team on the NCAA tournament bubble before ultimately playing in the NIT, Virginia won't be sweating on Selection Sunday 13 days from now. The Cavaliers are forecasted as a No. 3 seed in USA TODAY Sports' bracketology projections. Last season, after beating Duke in late February, Virginia lost back-to-back one-possession games. This season, it's a much different story.

"If teams can last with us, we love it," Harris said. "We love going down to the wire and really just having a gritty battle to the end. ... It's all about who can outlast one another."

Contributing: Erik Brady.

Scott Gleeson, a national college basketball writer/digital producer for USA TODAY Sports, is on Twitter @ScottMGleeson.